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Torque Bow
Torque Bow The Torque Bow is a deadly weapon that is wielded exclusively by the elite Locust warriors, the Theron Guards. Background The Torque Bow fires Imulsion tipped arrow-like projectiles, which explode shortly after impacting with a surface. The bow also features two blades which help during close-quarter combat. Its melee damage is second only to the Lancer's infamous Chainsaw. The Torque Bow has a somewhat unusual targeting reticule. Like the grenades, this weapon has a laser sight that shows the firing trajectory of the arrow and helps with precision aiming. This reticule also emphasizes that the bow must first apply enough rotational power to the arrow before it can actually have enough strength to penetrate a surface. The greatest weakness of this weapon is that its powerful projectile, when armed, produces a vibrant glow from the Imulsion of the arrow. This makes the Torque archer highly visible when charging the arrow. When charging the arrow it also makes a loud and some what annoying cranking sound that anyone can hear from a good distance. Technology The Torque Bow's technology appears to have combined every technical advancement made to weaponry over all of history with a weapon idea that had been abandoned some time ago. The old bow and arrow was essentially replaced with guns (starting with smoothbore muskets) when the power of rotation was applied to the bullet to make it travel farther than a simple pulled back and released arrow. This is, perhaps, where the Torque Bow got its use for rotation (hence the name 'torque'). The volatile Imulsion powered arrows were taken from the idea of fire arrows in the past. The fire arrows were lit from oil-covered tips and generated fire and later explosions. This advanced into putting low-viscosity Imulsion on the tips of arrows to produce an extremely explosive projectile and is very fitting for this futuristic bow. Use The Torque Bow should be used in any mid to long range fights. It fires a highly explosive arrow round. Once the arrow makes contact with a surface, it will explode within seconds. In the last act, this weapon is recommended, as it can scatter the Kryll that surround General RAAM. This weapon, when found, should be picked up as it is extremely useful in almost every situation. A suggested way of firing when fighting RAAM is to hold the right trigger before aiming, so one doesn't have to wait while out of cover to charge. If you hold the fire button long enough, you can make the arrow explode right when the Kryll are going back to RAAM, dealing RAAM damage, and scattering the Kryll at the same time. In Gears of War 2, a torque bow arrow will cause instant decapitation upon hitting the head of an enemy. The arrow will carry away the victim's head and pin it to the next surface it hits, before exploding. Head shots with this weapon are extremely powerful and are able to kill many bigger Locust such as Boomers, Grinders, and Kantus with a single shot to the head, which usually takes around 2-3 shots with the Longshot Sniper Rifle even if you achieve a Perfect Reload. Multiplayer In Multiplayer, this weapon is extremely powerful. If used correctly, it can kill any enemy in a single shot. Even if the reload is missed but shot correctly, this weapon can still take out any enemy. However, this weapon should be used with extreme caution, as the targeting system is very confusing at first and can lead to suicides often. A disadvantage to the user of this weapon can be their online position in a match. The Host of a match can fire this weapon as they would in local single player, though people connecting to this host will have to deal with latency. Players extremely skilled with the Torque Bow are capable of firing an arrow around corners by firing the arrow before it is fully charged, bouncing it off one player and into something behind them, or sticking the arrow on top of thin cover just above a crouched player. This last skill shot is extremely tricky, but if pulled off can lead the covered player to believe they are safe, since the arrow hit the cover and not them, before killing them. Another technique, which does not require as much skill but is less likely to succeed, is to shoot the ground next to a player behind cover at piercing velocity. With an active reload shot, this move can sometimes kill the player from full health in one hit. In the Gears of War 2 Multiplayer Demo, it was shown the Torque Bow had its own execution move. The player puts the weapon's blade on the victim's neck, holding the head in place and brings their foot down onto the head, decapitating the unfortunate down player. In Gears of War 2 if you shoot an enemy in the head it will count as a headshot also, when you shoot the head the head gets decapitated with the arrow still attached to it, and when it hits the nearest object, it will explode. The Torque Bow is a great all around weapon against Locust enemies in Horde. With its long range and ability to stick to opponents it can easily down tougher enemies such as Boomers, Grinders, Bloodmounts, and Maulers•. It is not recommended you use it against the Kantus priest enemies, though, they will often see it charging and will roll to the side when it is fired at them. Make every shot count because ammo is limited and hard to find until the later levels where there are many Theron Guards. Changes in Gears of War 2 In terms of appearance, the Torque Bow looks very similar to the original with an improved, more detailed look from the new graphics engine. One noticeable difference is that an arrow is actually shown loaded in the weapon because a tip is shown sticking out of the end of the chamber. The sound effects for the Torque Bow are also mostly the same. The weapon's charging, firing, and melee sound effects are all identical if not slightly enhanced. The arrow piercing and explosion sound effects are also similar. One slight difference is that swinging the Torque Bow will generate the blade-slicing sound effect regardless of whether it actually connected with a surface or target. The firing mechanics are also extremely similar. This time, however, the reticule turned from a small circle to a new, rectangular design. This makes it much easier to see when the Torque Bow is charged with enough force for the arrow to penetrate a surface. The Torque Bow seems to take slightly longer to charge in the sequel, however. One new interesting feature is that the Torque Bow's perfect active reload now gives it the ability to automatically release the arrow as soon as it is charged enough for penetration. This allows for much greater precision, letting the wielder simply track a target while the bow shoots the arrow on its own. The new Torque Bow is also capable of making a 'headshot', piercing and decapitating the head if it is shot correctly. It should be noted that the arrow will explode even if it does not pierce, making it a makeshift grenade of sorts, and that if it remains at its fully charged state for too long, it will fire on its own, whether you want it to or not, so watch where you aim. Trivia *The Torque Bow was originally going to be given to the Locust Hunter, but was later given to the Theron Guards to make them more deadly. The Hunter was then given a Gnasher Shotgun and would become the Grenadier. It was also going to be wrist-mounted, but this was changed for animation purposes. *In multiplayer if the Torque Bow is wielded by a COG the aiming beam is blue. When wielded by a Locust the beam is red. *In Gears of War 2 characters use terrified dialogue when struck with a Torque Bow bolt, in reaction to their inevitable demise. *In Gears of War 2, a strange, and as of yet unknown, glitch will cause a Torque Bow arrow to get "stuck" in the player's character model. It will not explode, or even smoke, and appears to remain in place until the player dies. It will not appear to other players. *In Gears of War 2, the Torque Bow has two executions that can be used against your enemies. The first one being a simple "nudge" with the weapon by hitting B on a downed enemy. The second one is done by hitting Y on a downed enemy, which will make your character bring the bow down to the enemy's throat, revealing a blade. He then kicks the opponent's head onto it, brutally decapitating them. *In Gears of War 2 the Torque Bow can get a headshot and will continue after hitting the head and explode after hitting something, making it possible to chain enemies.